Experts Warn Against Edeka's 178-Store Takeover of Tegut Amid Market Concentration Concerns
Germany's Federal Cartel Office approved Edeka's acquisition of 178 Tegut supermarkets, though industry experts warn the deal further concentrates an already consolidated food retail market.
Newsnibs Staff
- 2026-10-01
- Updated 12:26 PM UTC
(Bonn, Germany)
Germany's Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) has approved a plan for the retailer Edeka to take over 178 Tegut supermarkets. The approved deal is smaller than the original target of 202 stores. The number was cut to protect consumers.
The approval has drawn criticism from Tomaso Duso, president of the Monopolies Commission, and other German industry experts. Duso called it "a blow to competition." He points out that the four largest food retailers in Germany, Edeka, REWE, Aldi and the Schwarz Group, together control more than 90 percent of food retail turnover. In his view and that of the other experts, letting Edeka absorb another large block of stores concentrates the market further.
Tegut's other branches are not settled. Tante Enso has received approval to take over 36 stores, and REWE is seeking up to 40. Other chains are also competing for Tegut assets, so the final division of the company remains open.
Tegut was founded in Fulda in 1947 and has belonged to the Swiss cooperative Migros Zurich since 2013. The Tegut name will be discontinued at the 178 outlets Edeka takes over. Nearly 7,500 employees are affected.
Photo by Isabella Ibraim on Unsplash
